March of the Damned
by Paper Lanterns And Yogurt
Summary: [100-theme challenge] It was the first time Neji ever admitted a weakness.
1. introduction

**We live in cities you'll never see on screen/****Not very pretty, but we sure know how to run free  
****/****Living in ruins of the palace within my dreams/**

**And you know, we're on each other's team**

* * *

_i. Introduction_

To a four-year-old Neji, the Hyuga aviary was a portion of the sky encased in ornate steel.

At the back of the southernmost garden stood four cages, each holding a different type of bird. The biggest two held hawks, magnificent beasts of flight that stood tall on their low perches. One breed was smaller, messenger hawks, who were a shock of white on their underbellies and a deep onyx on their backs. Their talons were long to hold all sorts of scrolls. The other were bigger, more robust, with the largest wingspan of all the birds in the entire country. Neji had personally seen one of those monsters choke down a live rat, a gruesome contrast to the pedigree the hawks possessed.

In the others were turtledoves and pigeons, mere pets to the main household. They were small and flightless, pale white or a soft hazel, with dark wide eyes. They cooed and sang, but they remained on the ground whilst the hawks roamed the skies.

To Neji, they were caged souls, just like him- but at least he could help them in some way.

He fed the doves with bread he kept from breakfast. The pale grains were easy to see against the metal bottom of the cages and the doves were quick to snatch up each morsel they could get. As they ate Neji counted them all out, finding ten in total. His eyes were on one in particular, the one with the anklet of the clan leader wrapped around its foot.

Once every crumb was gone the doves stared at Neji, wondering if he had more. Instead, he opened the gate of aviary to them and stepped inside. The feeling of bars enclosing around him caused the young Hyuga unease. An itch flaring up beneath his palms that refused to leave. Most of the doves scattered from the invading force, but the one with the anklet continued to coo at him. He stared down at it without a flicker of caring, his fingertips twitching as he knelt beside the bird.

Its feathers were softer than a cloud, Neji realized as he ran his hand over its back. He closed his eyes, turning his entire world dark, so he could fully appreciate this moment.

Then, without warning to the dove, he reached out with his other hand and encircled its throat in a crushing hold.

The melodic tune of the dove turned into a screeching mess,. Its feathers flapped in a craze as the animal's tiny talons scraped at his wrists, drawing torrents of blood. Wretched noises spewed from the bird's mouth, causing the avians in the other cages to join in with their own keening cries. With all the commotion going on Neji knew he had to finish this as soon as possible.

He wrapped both hands around the bird's throat and sent a jolt of chakra from his palms. Though inexperienced at the gentle fist- his Father passed before he could begin teaching him, leaving Neji to watch his older cousins- the pressure was enough to snap the dove's neck.

Silence.

Neji allowed himself to worship this instance in time. Before an older relative came over, alerted by the birds, and yanked him by the back of his gi. He screamed in Neji's face, he snatched the dead bird from his fingers and then yelled some more. He pulled Neji by his bloodied wrists straight to Lord Hiashi's quarters, the dead dove's corpse brandished like a bloodied flag.

By then Neji had drowned out all the noise, pale eyes staring at the animal he had murdered without a trace of emotion. Only when the cracking pain shooting through his head did he realize what he had done. Small hands coming up to grab at his hair as he crumpled to the hard floor. Miniature spears tore through his mind, flashing behind the backs of his eyes. Neji refused to cry or scream, biting his lip enough to coat his entire chin in blood that dripped and stained the wood beneath him.

This is not the only blood you have spilled, Neji thinks as he feels someone picking him up. The sensation is a blurred notion in the back of his skull by now. More voices attempted to reach him as the young Hyuga succumbed to the black void awaiting him.

* * *

At age thirteen Tenten was a rather observant person. Since she blended so well into the background it allowed her time to observe others without bringing attention to herself.

She enjoyed it, storing away useful tidbits about people to remember them by. For instance, her new teammate Neji had a weird habit of doing things with his hands.

Must be a Hyuga thing, she decided as she looked over at the silent prodigy. They were both early for their team meeting. Tenten, because she was too excited, and Neji, because he had no intention of going back home anytime soon. They waited together, neither deeming it appropriate to initiate conversation. After a moment of looking at the sky, Tenten turned to see Neji pull out a bottle of water. He held the drink with both hands clasped around the middle. A rather peculiar decision since he was effectively squirting the water into his mouth. A tad more undignified than Tenten would have taken a Hyuga for.

He put the water away before reclining into the seat, a calm, meditative way of sitting. Though his body had become lax, his fingertips touched each other to form a circle. A buddhist symbol, maybe?

Tenten didn't bother asking him about it, considering Neji wasn't aware of it himself. And also because their third teammate had just arrived.

* * *

** I'm kind of over getting told to throw my hands up in the air/ **  
**So there**


	2. complicated

_i. Complicated_

"Oh, fuck off."

Tenten threw the scroll at Neji, stomping away as Naruto watched with wide-eyes at the words that just came out of her mouth.

Naruto whispered, unsure if he was allowed to speak, "Can she say that?"

Neji shrugged in response. "She's team leader." Then he began to follow her, tucking the scroll into his pocket. Confused, as well as a tiny bit afraid, Naruto took after Neji as the three made their way to some unspoken location.

The blond-haired boy squinted his eyes, finding no words exchanged between the two. Tenten walked with complete purpose, her teammate understanding and trusting her without question. In a way it was eerie how in-sync they walked...

"Oi!" Naruto called as they passed into the more rundown parts of Konoha. "Where ya going? The village dump?" He snickered, hoping his joke would lighten the mood.

Without turning her head, Tenten scoffed. "My house."

Her words felt like a kunai had pierced Naruto straight through the chest. The usual-hyperactive ninja shrunk down as he remained quiet for the rest of the trip.

Upon seeing Tenten's abode, a strangled gasp leapt from Naruto's throat. It wasn't even a house, it appeared to be a set from a horror movie. The ground around them was scorched, charred trees and bear traps surrounding the perimeter. Going through the front door sounded like the quickest route, but there wasn't a front door. It was just a large splintered piano jammed into the doorway. Pointing, he exclaimed, "That's a death trap!"

"Choke on a slimy dick, Newface," Tenten growled, "I live here."

Blowing the bangs out of her face, Tenten approached her house. It looked like be a foreclosed apartment building, surrounded by broken debris or barbed wire. Blithely, she traversed the mangled remains with ease. She cartwheeled, twisted, and pirouetted around to a window. Dodging traps that sprang senbon and flails at her, she winked at the two boys as she slid inside.

Naruto peered over at Neji, hoping the prodigy would have some words of sensibility to offer.

"It's nicer on the inside," is all he offered before using a chakra-powered jump to vault onto the stone wall. He was careful not to land on the part that was crumbling or covered in glass, and into the window-less window of the second-story.

Some screaming from Tenten occurred, leaving Naruto too timid to try and enter just yet.

"Fuck-in-a-half, Neji! You left my tarot cards on the table and the wind knocked them all over the place!"

"I'm sure they're all here," came Neji's nonchalant reply.

"Oh, they better be, pretty boy. I swear, when I lost your precious-little-fucking throw pillow you busted your left testicle glaring at me! Well who's blue-balled now, motherfucker!" Some odd noises occurred, as if things were being knocked around.

"I promise I will find them all." How could Neji be so calm about all this, Naruto wondered hysterically.

"Well start looking, or I'll eat your - hey, where's that grass-stain-of-a-ninja go? Neji!"

Naruto felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, his body's natural instinct to flee kicking in. Anticipation welled up inside him. The feeling of ever-seeing eyes passing over his body close to making him run away at top speed.

After a moment he could hear Neji again.

"He is standing outside still."

"That ingrown pubic hair!"

As Naruto gaped at the indecency of Tenten's vocabulary it left the brunette girl enough time to open a window that wasn't broken. She hurled a carving knife in his direction, grazing the boy's cheek and jolting him out of his stupor. Holding the wound, Naruto could only stare at Tenten as she juggled another knife on her fingertip.

"The hell are you doing? Get in here, I'm making lunch before we leave." She waved the knife around, the action looking careless if it was anyone else but her.

"Bu-but... okay." Naruto, thoroughly intimidated. He mimicked Neji's route into the building before Tenten threw anymore weapons at him.

It turns out that the Hyuga was right, the interior of the building was much more maintained than its outside counterpart. Aside from some piles of broken junk, Tenten's house was neat and tidy.

Locating a nearby staircase that took him to the ground floor, Naruto was bemused to see the great Neji Hyuga. He was lying on his stomach, arm shoved as far as it could go beneath Tenten's couch, attempting to reclaim a tarot card. Despite the mundane activity, the prodigy's face remained serious as usual. Byakugan activated, his cheek pressed close to the carpeted floor, he acted like they were already on the mission.

Tenten walked in soon after, holding a tray of sandwiches and tea. She deposited it on the coffee table before walking over to where Neji was and kicking him in the rear.

"Hey, Nej-Nej, get off the floor and eat. You'll get that card later." It seemed Tenten was easing out of her foul mood, much to Naruto's relief.

While Tenten's living room was furnished, the setting of its contents was rather... off. She had four couches, all different styles. Two faced a flat-screen TV while the others rested on the sides, a low mahogany table standing in the middle. Myriads of pillows covered every surface, from feathery ones to old ones to cushions of unknown origins. If a spot wasn't covered by a pillow it was underneath a stuffed animal instead.

"Is that a pillow fort?" Naruto asked, motioning to the big tent in the far corner of the room. It was cute being covered in blankets, christmas lights, and a cardboard sign that read 'Neji's Hidey Hole'. Naruto couldn't fathom the Hyuga actually using the space though.

Tenten nodded, handing a sandwich to the blue-eyed boy. "Yep. Neji over there," she glanced over to the prodigy, who was feeling the texture of his bread instead of eating it. "Is diagnosed with a rare disease called ass burgers -"

"Asperger's," Neji spoke up without looking away from his sandwich.

"-Ass burgers," Tenten continued, "which makes him a intolerable to be around. If he gets on my nerves I can shove him in there and he comes out a teensy bit less arrogant!"

That explained a lot, Naruto thought, wondering what could be in the fort that made Neji decent to be around.

As if a freaky mind-reader, Neji scowled at Naruto. "Don't even think of going in there." Immediately Naruto's 'sneak into Neji's hidey hole' plans fled down the drain.

"Wasn't," he lied, changing the subject. "Hey Tenten, why is all your stuff so... not matching?"

The brunette girl, plopping down beside Neji and throwing her legs over his lap, shrugged, taking a bite out of her lunch instead. "This was an apartment complex, but in the Kyubi attack most of the place got smashed. When I was younger I lived at the orphanage, but I liked being here much better and began turning it into a livable habitat by myself. With the help of the Third Hokage - may his soul rest in peace - I own all the property. Except for the TV, that's Neji's. So he can watch Spongebob."

"Those channels are blocked at the Hyuga household. Especially my room, where the reception is horrid," Neji added, a slight frown marring his stoic features. "So is the cooking network, even though they kept Suna Girls Gone Wild: Untamed and Uncensored." He sounded bitter about this peculiar injustice.

"You have porn?" Of the entire talk, it seemed that was the only thing Naruto cared to listen about. Eyes sparkling, he asked, "Can I come over sometime? I mean, to study of course. You could tutor me, you're a genius and -"

"Save it," Tenten huffed, chucking a sandwich straight into Naruto's mouth. "Neji's room is literally where the heavens align and the only channels on his TV are porn. They make him live there because he's the only Hyuga who has never strangled his skin porpoise. Aren't you, you repressed little ass burger." She leaned over, tugging at Neji's cheek with a grin.

Shocking clarity shone above Naruto, bathing him in a warm glow of self-actualization. Of all the people in the world, he had never met anyone quiet like Neji Hyuga.

"You don't masturbate!?"

Though he shouted the question louder than necessary, Naruto felt he got his point across. Neji stared back at him, the epitome of peace as he stroked his sandwich.

"Like, not even a stiffy? A half-mast? A single erection in your boring life? When you piss do you just shake once and leave?" Questions piled up in Naruto's head faster than he could speak them. "And yet you have a TV that blasts high-definition tits at your face whenever you please! How can you not be aroused by that!"

Neji had the decency to look thoughtful. He leaned closer to Tenten, resting his head on her shoulder, fingers running across his sandwich as he stared off into space. Naruto leaned forth in his chair, willing an answer to come out of the Hyuga. After a terse moment, the air stilling between the three Genin, Neji came to his conclusion:

"Nah."

Tenten giggled as she watched Naruto throw a tantrum over her teammate's access to unlimited nudity. She remembered the first time she and Lee came over to Neji's room to study for the Chunin exams. The white-eyed genius turning on Backdoor Sluts XXX as 'background noise' like it was the most natural sound to read to. Lee's face had turned redder than the actual color while she herself choked on her own spit from laughing so hard.

Fond memories those were. Lee never goes to study at Neji's house anymore, his youthful mind plagued by Monika's 'finishing move'. Meanwhile, Tenten has grown accustomed to the noise enough to let it fade into the background.

The weapons-expert stretched, pushing Neji off of her as she sprawled out like a cat. "Well, have you been enlightened, Newface? I live in an abandoned apartment complex and Neji has not touched his penis intimately for the entire thirteen years of his life. Wow, what a sizzler, Konoha Journalism's best article for sure. Signed and sealed - let's go, we got a mission."

She stood up, patting herself down before turning to Neji with an expectant look. He in turn pulled out the scroll from before, handing it to his teammate. Before Naruto could marvel at the thoughtfulness, Neji opening his mouth as wide as he could and engulfed his sandwich.

A tad disgusted, Naruto looked on in awe at the dynamics between the two, trying to figure out which one was crazier.

While Tenten re-read the contents, her stomach full and mood bright, Naruto felt he had to confirm a growing suspicion before they set out on their mission.

"Are you two, like, a couple or something?"

Pausing in her reading Tenten gave the other a smile that could only be summed up as conspiring. "Neji likes to call me his 'spiritual life partner'. I'm okay with being a girlfriend though."

"We were destined before the dawn of time," Neji said, getting off the couch to resume his quest for the tarot card. Face on the floor he continued, "Though you convinced me, Naruto, that fate is not predetermined, I do know that there are laws of this world that we cannot bend. Tenten being my mate is one of them."

Said brunette huffed. "Girlfriend sounds so much cuter."

Neji's response was muffled by the carpet. "Mate is more permanent. Girlfriends, that title is temporary. No one stays a girlfriend forever. A mate promises eternity." Naruto scratched the back of his head at that one, wondering how Neji could get himself a girlfriend in the first place.

"Whatever, Smegma Eyes," Tenten grumbled, cheeks a fine pink as she pocketed the scroll. "C'mon Newface, we need a thousand kunai and a thousand shuriken and if we're late I'm storing them up your sphincter." She moved to the window, jumping through it without waiting for them.

Naruto inwardly groaned, now dreading more time with the duo. Neji emerged from the bottom of the couch, holding a tarot card that he then placed onto the coffee table beside the others.

"If you make Tenten wait, she doesn't go back on her promises." He advised before following after Tenten through the window.

The blond boy wondered if Tenten ever feared of robbers, then remembered that this was Tenten. "She'd probably skin them alive," he muttered to himself. As he prepared to jump out the window, Naruto contented himself to knowing some of the inner complexities of Neji and Tenten.

* * *

**A/N: This is the worst thing I've ever written at 2 am. If you feel Neji shouldn't have ass burgers then sorry but now he has ass burgers.**


	3. making history

**Lately I been, I been losing sleep/ Dreaming about the things that we could be/****But baby, I been, I been prayin' hard/ Said no more counting dollars/ We'll be counting stars**

* * *

_i. Making History_

"I haven't slept in three days."

It was the first time Neji has ever admitted a weakness.

Tenten knew he didn't want help; Neji never wanted a lot of things. Still, what was she to do with this new information? If she pried he'll just revert back to being a moving ice statue. Did he even expect her to do anything?

Instead of words, because words are fickle and unreliable in her opinion, Tenten unfurls her scrolls and charges at him.

Despite his insomnia, Neji was still the best Genin of their generation. He took a step back right as she leapt into the air, higher than the treetops, and leaned on his heel as she began spinning.

By the time she had bitten her thumb and smeared the blood on the seals Neji was just beginning to form _kaiten_. She threw her heaviest weapons at him: two-ton weights bigger than herself, enormous flails that spun in deadly circles, battle axes fit for giants, and even one of Jidanda's prototypes. Neji's rotation held, but the ground around him did not. Trees were knocked out around him and the earth shattered from beneath.

Without a foothold to spin the white-eyed boy slowed his movements before simply leaping out of the way of the remaining projectiles.

Tenten descended soon after, holding her shoulder slightly because no matter how much centrifugal force she created she was still throwing all that steel herself. She took a moment to mourn their training spot, hoping she could get Lee or Gai to terraform it back in place.

"Are you trying to send me to the hospital so I can rest?" Neji's question held a note of mirth, his sleep deprivation possibly giving him a sense of humor as well.

The girl smiled, shrugging as she began the arduous task of finding and re-sealing her weapons. She knew she could seal them with a few hand signs but today she didn't feel like expending the needed chakra.

"Want to come over for some hot chocolate?" Her breath misted in front of her, signaling that winter was coming soon. Her house, though large, always became unbearable cold due to its lack of windows.

Surveying the ruined landscape Neji took a few steps towards his teammate. "Is this an attempt to get me to fall asleep?"

This caused the weapon mistress to stick her tongue out. "You want hot chocolate or not, fuckstick?"

And thus Neji came over to Tenten's house for the first time.

He turned to her, an eyebrow raised. "It's nicer on the inside," she insisted before jumping up to one of the windowless windows, expecting Neji to follow. She made her way straight to her small kitchen, pulling out the cocoa packets when she heard familiar footsteps approaching.

The Hyuga's pale gaze fell on her massive living room, a circle of sofas and pillows with a dash of old stuffed animals. On the coffee table centered in the middle was a tiny TV, extension cords connecting it to the single electrical socket on the other side of the room.

"This is basically my living room and bedroom. All of the other rooms are used for storage or bathrooms. One's a study room, but there's no room to sleep there. Everything else is full of broken crap I can't afford to get rid of," Tenten explained, stirring milk and powder into two large mugs. "I own everything, either from the previous tenants or from my savings. Make yourself at home." With a smile she deposited the cups into her microwave.

When she entered her living room she was content to find Neji sitting on one of the couches, all of the pillows previously lying on it pushed away from him as if by an invisible forefield. With his white shirt and pale skin he looked out of place amongst her colourfully cushioned room.

She went to the TV, fiddling with the buttons until something resembling a picture appeared. A loud, high-pitched singsong sound filled the room. "Do you like Spongebob?" she inquired, scouring the room for the remote.

"Leave it," Neji said. He leaned back and began to watch the talking sponge, entranced by the cartoon. "This is fine."

Before Tenten could voice her confusion her microwave dinged. "Want any marshmallows in yours?"

"No."

Unaffected by her teammate's bluntness Tenten went back to the kitchen and retrieved the hot mugs. When she brought it back to Neji his attention was rapt on something Spongebog was doing. He and Patrick were sleeping over, goofing off and building pillow forts. Speaking of...

"Wanna build a fort?"

Neji took the cup offered to him, looking down at the large marshmallow settled in the middle like a fluffy white island. "Where would you put it?" he said after a moment, gesturing to the sparse living room. Besides the couches there wasn't anything to set blankets or pillows on.

Tenten simply gave a conspiring wink. "Leave that to me, pretty boy." Neji regarded her in silence, the steam coming from his mug misting over his face and making the rings around his eyes more prominent. He took a sip, being careful not to let the marshmallow touch his lips.

"Sure."

For several hours the two sat together enjoying the company, drinking cocoa and watching toons. Apparently there was a Spongebog marathon going on, leading to Tenten falling asleep without noticing. She awoke when she felt a pillow being placed over her face.

"Oi, smegma-eyes, you trying to bury me?" she accused, grabbing the pillow out of Neji's hands, ready to beat him into submission with it. To her surprise it was late at night, the empty mugs of cocoa sitting on the table as Spongebob continued to blare across the TV screen. "What time is it?"

"2:32 in the morning."

Tenten frowned, knowing that the entire time Neji must have been awake. She looked around, finding that she was covered in numerous pillows from around the room. A smile broke out across her face at this. "You still wanna build a fort?"

A few minutes later Tenten had procured extra sheets and chairs, as well as old christmas lights. She tossed the sheets and lights into Neji's hands as she sauntered over to the far corner of the room, placing several chairs near the wall. The Hyuga was content to watch her work as he held the materials, his focus shifting between Tenten and Spongebob every so often. Once the weapon mistress had arranged several chairs in a circle in the corner she turned back to Neji.

"Well, that's the base. You can drape as many sheets and stupid lights as you want over it, and you can put anything you want inside of it! Think of it as your hidey-hole!" She waited patiently for the little lightbulb inside of her teammate's head to flicker on but it didn't even spark. Tenten deflated visibly. "You have no idea what to do, do you?"

Neji was decent enough to look abashed.

With a groan Tenten took one of the sheets and threw it over the chairs, letting it billow out before settling like a canvas. She tossed several more until none of the chair legs were visible, creating a canopy of multi-coloured sheets. "Do that, but with the lights," she instructed, walking back to the couch to pick up the mugs.

With a grin she noticed the marshmallow still in Neji's cup, pulling it out and chewing it herself. No reason to let it go to waste. The brunette girl enjoyed her fluffy treat as she washed out the mugs, humming to herself as she went about her task. She wasn't sure if Neji could really finish the fort, but he was stubborn when it came to completing missions so she trusted he'd make a valiant attempt at least.

Drying her hands on a cloth Tenten was pleasantly surprised to see blinking stars all around the fort with Neji nowhere in sight. She raised a brow at some missing pillows and stuffed toys, making a clever guess as to where they went.

"Neji, oh Neji, wherever the fuck art thou Neji?" she cooed, leaning down to the entrance of the fort and pulling away one of the sheets.

A white hand flew out to grasp her wrist. "Don't come in here."

Shaking him off Tenten gave a pout. "Fine, be a curmudgeon. If you're happy with your shack I'll leave you alone. Don't jack off in there, most of those sheets are hard to get stains out of." Standing up Tenten went back to the couch and laid down, absently watching Spongebob laugh ring throughout the otherwise quiet room.

She smiled when she heard the snoring.

* * *

**Yeah, we'll be counting stars**


End file.
